Who he was
Hildebrand, of humble Tuscan birth, was educated at a monastery on the Aventine in Rome and became a Benedictine monk. As chaplain to Gregory VI and adviser to the popes from Leo IX to Alexander II, he was for more than twenty years the leading figure in the reform of the Church. He was acclaimed pope by the clergy and people at Alexander II's funeral in 1073 and took the name Gregory.
What he is remembered for
He fought simony and clerical marriage and forbade lay investiture, which brought him into conflict with King Henry IV; the king's penance at Canossa in January 1077 is one of the best-known scenes of the Middle Ages. Henry later set up an antipope and took Rome, and Gregory died in exile at Salerno, saying that he had loved justice and hated iniquity. Beatified in 1584 and canonised by Benedict XIII in 1728, he is counted among the greatest of the popes.
He is honoured by the Church as Saint. Read his page in the dictionary of saints.
Sources
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